Spherically symmetric internal layers for activator-inhibitor systems—I. Existence by a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction

Reaction-diffusion systems of activator-inhibitor type are studied on an N-dimensional ball with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. Under the condition that the activator diffuses slowly, reacts rapidly and the inhibitor diffuses rapidly, reacts moderately, we show that the system admits a family of spherically symmetric internal transition layer equilibria. The method of proof consists of rigorous asymptotic expansions and a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction.     

Spherically symmetric internal layers for activator-inhibitor systems II. Stability and symmetry breaking bifurcations

A reaction-diffusion system of activator-inhibitor type is studied on an N-dimensional ball with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. We analyze the stability property of the spherically symmetric solutions and their symmetry-breaking bifurcations into layer solutions which are not spherically symmetric.     

Instability of solitary wave solutions for the generalized BO-ZK equation

In this paper we study the generalized BO-ZK equation in two space dimensions

ut+upux+αHuxx+εuxyy=0.     

Existence and stability of weak solutions for a degenerate parabolic system modelling two-phase flows in porous media

We prove global existence of nonnegative weak solutions to a degenerate parabolic system which models the interaction of two thin fluid films in a porous medium. Furthermore, we show that these weak solutions converge at an exponential rate towards flat equilibria.     

Homogenization of singular numbers for a non self-adjoint elliptic problem in a perforated domain

We consider the spectral problem for a non self-adjoint Dirichlet problem for a higher-order elliptic operator in a sequence of perforated domains. We establish the convergence of the singular numbers generated by the problem to the corresponding singular numbers generated by a limit problem of the same type but containing an additional term of capacity type.Research supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa.     

Pullback attractors for asymptotically compact non-autonomous dynamical systems

First, we introduce the concept of pullback asymptotically compact non-autonomous dynamical system as an extension of the similar concept in the autonomous framework. Our definition is different from that of asymptotic compactness already used in the theory of random and non-autonomous dynamical systems (as developed by Crauel, Flandoli, Kloeden, Schmalfuss, amongst others) which means the existence of a (random or time-dependent) family of compact attracting sets. Next, we prove a result ensuring the existence of a pullback attractor for a non-autonomous dynamical system under the general assumptions of pullback asymptotic compactness and the existence of a pullback absorbing family of sets. This attractor is minimal and, in most practical applications, it is unique. Finally, we illustrate the theory with a 2D Navier–Stokes model in an unbounded domain.     

Stationary viscous flows at zero surface tension

Stationary solutions of free boundary problems for the Navier-Stokes equations are considered with and without surface tension. The linearized problem in a half-space is studied. Exact solutions of the Poiseuille type are obtained. Properties of the free boundary smoothness in 3-D and 2-D cases are discussed.     

The uniqueness and asymptotic stability of pyramidal traveling fronts in the Allen-Cahn equations

This paper studies the uniqueness and the asymptotic stability of a pyramidal traveling front in the three-dimensional whole space. For a given admissible pyramid we prove that a pyramidal traveling front is uniquely determined and that it is asymptotically stable under the condition that given perturbations decay at infinity. For this purpose we characterize the pyramidal traveling front as a combination of planar fronts on the lateral surfaces. Moreover we characterize the pyramidal traveling front in another way, that is, we write it as a combination of two-dimensional V-form waves on the edges. This characterization also uniquely determines a pyramidal traveling front.     

The equations of potential flow of compressible viscous fluid at low Reynolds number

The existence, uniqueness, and stabilization of solutions are investigated for two approximate models of viscous compressible fluid.     

A free boundary problem modeling the cell cycle and cell movement in multicellular tumor spheroids

This paper deals with a mathematical model describing the cell cycle dynamics and chemotactic driven cell movement in a multicellular tumor spheroid. Tumor cells consist of two types of cells: proliferating cells and quiescent cells, which have different chemotactic responses to an extracellular nutrient supply. The model is a free boundary problem for a nonlinear system of reaction-diffusion-advection equations, where the free boundary is the outer boundary of the spheroid. The free boundary condition is quite novel due to different velocity of two types of cells. The global existence and uniqueness of solutions to the model is proved. The proof is based on a fixed point argument, together with the Lp-theory for parabolic equations with the third boundary condition.     

Global existence and decay for nonlinear dissipative wave equations with a derivative nonlinearity

We prove the global existence of the so-called H² solutions for a nonlinear wave equation with a nonlinear dissipative term and a derivative type nonlinear perturbation. To show the boundedness of the second order derivatives we need a precise energy decay estimate and for this we employ a ‘loan’ method.     

Sharp estimates of the convergence rate for a semilinear parabolic equation with supercritical nonlinearity

We study the behavior of solutions of the Cauchy problem for a semilinear parabolic equation with supercritical nonlinearity. It is known that if two solutions are initially close enough near the spatial infinity, then these solutions approach each other. In this paper, we give its sharp convergence rate for a class of initial data. We also derive a universal lower bound of the convergence rate which implies the optimality of the result. Proofs are given by a comparison method based on matched asymptotics expansion.     

On the singular set of the parabolic obstacle problem

This paper is devoted to regularity results and geometric properties of the singular set of the parabolic obstacle problem with variable right-hand side. Making use of a monotonicity formula for singular points, we prove the uniqueness of blow-up limits at singular points. These results apply to parabolic obstacle problem with variable coefficients.     

Viscosity solutions for elliptic-parabolic problems

We study an elliptic-parabolic problem appearing in the theory of partially saturated flows in the framework of viscosity solutions. This is part of current investigation to understand the theory of viscosity solutions for PDE problems involving free boundaries. We prove that the problem is well posed in the viscosity setting and compare the results with the weak theory. Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions are considered.     

Long time asymptotics for 2 by 2 hyperbolic systems

The goal of this paper is to study the behavior of the energy for 2 by 2 strictly hyperbolic systems. On the one hand we are interested in generalized energy conservation which excludes blow-up and decay of the energy for t→∞. On the other hand we present scattering results which take account of terms of order zero.     

On strong solutions of the multi-layer quasi-geostrophic equations of the ocean

In this article, we study the multi-layer quasi-geostrophic equations of the ocean. The existence of strong solutions is proved. We also prove the existence of a maximal attractor in L²(Ω)$L^2\left(\Omega \right)$ and we derive estimates of its Hausdorff and fractal dimensions in terms of the data. Our estimates rely on a new formulation that we introduce for the multi-layer quasi-geostrophic equation of the ocean, which replaces the nonhomogeneous boundary conditions (and the nonlocal constraint) on the stream-function by a simple homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. This work improves the results given in [C. Bernier, Existence of attractor for the quasi-geostrophic approximation of the Navier–Stokes equations and estimate of its dimension, Adv. Math. Sci. Appl. 4 (2) (1994) 465–489].     

Continuous dependence of heat flux on spatial geometry for the generalized Maxwell-Cattaneo system

In the Generalized Maxwell-Cattaneo equations the temperature and heat flux are separate variables that are related through a system of partial differential equations. In a previous paper [5] the authors established continuous dependence of the temperature on spatial geometry. In this paper inequalities are derived which imply continuous dependence of the heat flux on spatial geometry. The arguments employed here are quite different and more complicated than those of the previous paper.     

A parabolic variational inequality arising from the valuation of strike reset options

A strike reset option is an option that allows its holder to reset the strike price to the prevailing underlying asset price at a moment chosen by the holder. The pricing model of the option can be formulated as a one-dimensional parabolic variational inequality, or equivalently, a free boundary problem, where the free boundary just corresponds to the optimal reset strategy adopted by the holder of the option. This paper is concerned with the theoretical analysis of the model. The existence and uniqueness of the solution are established. Furthermore, we study properties of the free boundary. The monotonicity and C^∞ smoothness of the free boundary are proven in some situations.     

On the Cauchy problem for the two-component Euler–Poincaré equations

In the paper, we first use the energy method to establish the local well-posedness as well as blow-up criteria for the Cauchy problem on the two-component Euler–Poincaré equations in multi-dimensional space. In the case of dimensions 2 and 3, we show that for a large class of smooth initial data with some concentration property, the corresponding solutions blow up in finite time by using Constantin–Escher Lemma and Littlewood–Paley decomposition theory. Then for the one-component case, a more precise blow-up estimate and a global existence result are also established by using similar methods. Next, we investigate the zero density limit and the zero dispersion limit. At the end, we also briefly demonstrate a Liouville type theorem for the stationary weak solution.